Women's Rights Quotes
Although this was written in a 1920 letter, the letter was not publicly published until 1970.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910
Vladimir Lenin. This is a classic Lenninism where he argues that the basic principles of Communism solve all problems. He never explains how the abolition of private property would lead to female freedom and independence. Nor is this point argued by other Marxist advocates. It was an almost knee-jerk opportunistic reaction not unlike modern conservatives for whom lower taxes are the cure for all ills. The fact that married women were considered the private property of their husbands was amenable to much less drastic solutions than the elimination of private property. Indeed, we have simply abolished wives from the property class and left other property private.
Marcus Porcius Cato. This quotation has had two different interpretations over time. One was that women if they received equality of treatment and voting would have an advantage for they also had their traditional “feminine wiles” and their sexuality, hence would dominate men. The second was a also a warning but based on the fact that women were superior in many ways, and given an equal chance, would excel men. The later interpretation is argued by some who point to the 2011 American data that shows more females than males graduating from high school and college, and females outnumber males in medical, law and several other professional schools. With the exception of a few Roman men, most heeded Cato’s warning and never took a chance on female equality.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910. This is an excellent example of political sarcasm. Read literally, this quotation indicates that he was opposed to women’s suffrage, and was a fairly extreme sexist. What he was doing however, is stating publicly the argument that many men made at the time—especially those who were not highly literate or well-educated. By stating the argument of the opposition, he allows fair minded people to be exposed to views that they might otherwise not be exposed to. Many sexist men at the time read the quotation and, not appreciating Twain’s sarcasm, concluded that Twain, unlike most of the “egghead intellectuals” of the day was an opponent of the increasingly militant feminists. In actuality, Mark Twain was a strong feminist. See {630191}, {630192}, & {630193}.
